Chapter 119: James stared at Rachel, his mind racing. How did she find him here? Was it a trap? He glanced at the window, considering his escape options.Rachel must have sensed his unease. She held up her hands. "I'm not here to hurt you, James. I promise.""Yeah? Like you promised you were Lily's sister?" James shot back.Rachel winced. "I deserve that. But please, just hear me out. We don't have much time."James hesitated. The smart thing would be to run. But he needed answers. And right now, Rachel might be his best shot at getting them."Fine," he said. "Talk. But make it quick."Rachel nodded. "First things first - Lily and Ave. Are they safe?""They're fine," James said, not wanting to give away their location. "Your turn. How did you find me?""I've been watching the house," Rachel admitted. "I figured you might come back here looking for answers."James frowned. "So you've been spying on us?""Protecting you," Rachel corrected. "You have no idea how many people are after yo
Chapter 120James was beat. He'd been up all night, running from bad guys and learning crazy stuff about his family. Now the sun was coming up, and he still had to get to that bank.He found a little diner that was just opening. The smell of coffee and bacon made his stomach growl. James realized he couldn't remember the last time he ate."Coffee, please," he told the sleepy-looking waitress. "And whatever's hot and ready for breakfast."While he waited, James thought about Lily and Ave. Were they okay? Had Lily gotten his message? He hated being apart from them, not knowing if they were safe.The waitress brought him a steaming mug and a plate piled with eggs, bacon, and toast. James dug in, suddenly starving. As he ate, he tried to make a plan. He had to get to that safety deposit box. But what if someone was watching the bank? What if it was a trap?James shook his head. He couldn't think like that. He had to trust his grandma. She wouldn't have led him into danger.Still, he'd be
Chapter 121James just sat hard, his stare out the window as the black car churned up mile after mile on winding country roads. They'd left noisy city far behind them hours ago. All he could see now was rolls of hills and thick forests. It felt like they were driving to the end of the world.They were finally slowing down, pulling up to some remote cabin perched within a thicket of pine trees. James stretched out, his stiff muscles after an eternity of a ride."This is one of our safe houses. You'll be okay here while we figure out what to do next," Hawk said. She was the hard-looking older woman who had picked up James in the city.James followed her inside. The cabin wasn't fancy, but it looked comfortable. Way different from his big mansion back home. But right now, it seemed perfect."There's a special phone in the office," Hawk said, jerking a thumb toward a closed door. "You can use it to call your wife. But keep it short, okay? We don't want anyone tracking the call."James nod
Chapter 122: James woke with a throbbing backache from that lumpy bed in that cabin. He missed his big, fluffy mattress at home. But hey, at least he was alive, right?He went into the kitchen to search for coffee. Hawk sat at the counter, banging away like lightening on a laptop."Morning," she greeted, not stopping. "There is a pot of coffee on.""You are a lifesaver," James muttered, filling a mug to the brim and taking a long draught. "Ah, that is better. What is the plan for today?"Hawk closed her laptop. "We need to start stitching together how the Shadow Council's operations tick. Your company might be a good place to start. Any loyal employees you can reach out to?"James thought a second. "Yeah. Maybe my assistant, Angie. She is been with me for years. If anybody knows what is going on at the office, it is her.""Can you trust her?" Hawk asked.James nodded. "I think so. She's always had my back.""Okay," Hawk said. "Use the line at the office…and keep it short."James dra
Chapter 123: Again, in his cabin, James winced once more at how much his muscles ached from another miserable night on that lumpy cabin mattress. His lazy ass finally got going after smelling brewing coffee, so he tripped into the kitchen, squinting against the bright morning light.As usual, Hawk hunched over her laptop, typing away like a woman obsessed. She looked up as James walked in. "About time you woke up. We have a busy day ahead."James grunted and filled his cup with coffee. "What's on the agenda?"Hawk spun her laptop around. "Take a gander at this."James leaned in with big eyes as he scrolled through the screen. It was an email from some mysterious name, claiming to have inside information on the Shadow Council."Is this legit?" James exclaimed, his interest truly woken.Hawk shrugged. "Might be. Might be a trap, though. Still, it's the best lead we've got right now."James scrolled down the email. That had been from some small cog in one of Elena's companies. He said h
Chapter 124James, Hawk, and Angie were hunched over a small table in the dingy, low-end motel room. The curtains were drawn tight with what little light the room saw coming from a lamp in the corner. Sitting on the table in front of them was Angie's thumb drive. In true fashion, it was the size of a postage stamp."Okay," Hawk said softly. "Lay it out for us, from the beginning. Angie, give us all of it."Angie took a huge, chest-filling breath. She looked wrung out, with dark circles under her eyes. "It started about a week after you disappeared, Mr. Watson. Elena showed up at the office with a whole team of lawyers. She claimed she had evidence that you stole her research."James clenched his fists. "That's absurd. I've never stolen so much as a paper clip in my life.""I know," Angie echoed. "But she was so convincing. She had documents, e-mails, everything. The board was in a panic. Nobody knew what to believe."Hawk pushed his body upright. "And that's when this Shadow Council g
Chapter 125: James, Hawk, and Angie fled through the dark city streets, their hearts bruised by the horrific encounter they had narrowly survived at the ball. The van jerked and slid around corners – Hawk drove them much too fast for safety, racing for home to put distance between them and Elena's wrath."That was ridiculous," she finally gasped. She leaned back against the wall of the van, and her legs felt like they were going to give out from under her. "I thought for sure Elena had me."James nodded grimly. "You did great, Angie. Really. But now they know that we are onto them."Hawk did not took his eyes off the road; his knuckles were white on the wheel. "Yeah, and they'll be out for blood. We need to lay low for a while, figure out our next move."Miles began to flick by as fast as James's thoughts whirred. The Shadow Council had been way more powerful than he had ever imagined them to be. From politics to big business to the media, their fingers were in everything. How in the
# Chapter 126James paced up and down the tiny motel room. Just a few hours left until he'd have to stand in front of the Shadow Council. Much hung in the balance.Hawk perched at the rickety table, the laptop open in front of her. Literally, she hadn't slept in more than a day, slaving away piecing their plan together. Angie curled up in the chair, her face washed out with worry."Okay," Hawk finally said, breaking the tight silence. "Let's go over this one more time."James nodded to himself, willing himself not to stay there. "Right. I slip in through the old service tunnel, plant the bugs, and then slip right back out again. Simple."Hawk regarded him dubiously. "Simple, he says. James, you're walking into the lion's den. These people want you dead or worse.""I know—" James acknowledged, drooping with disappointment. "—but what choice do we have? We need that evidence."Angie was the first to break the silence. Her voice came out low, but steady. "I still think one of us should g
Chapter 142: The Watson mansion was fully alive. Streamers hung cascading off of everything they could, balloons bounced merrily around various corners, and the air swam thick with the tantalizing smell of BBQ on the back porch. Today was, after all, Ave's party – but it was more than that; today was the day Lily and James had chosen to once again pledge themselves to one another.Lily stood before the full-length mirror, straightening out her simple white sundress. At seven months, she was radiant—a perfect arc the curve of her belly was, below the flowing fabric.From the doorway, the sound of a voice declared, "You look beautiful." Lily turned to see her cousin Maggie smile at her."Thanks." Lily smoothed the dress. "I feel like a beached whale, but James insists I'm glowing."Maggie burst out laughing. "He's right, you know. You look like you're about to light up his world or something." She walked over and hugged Lily. "I can't believe how far we've come since that one crazy nig
Chapter 141: Lily woke up off. She couldn't explain it, but something just seemed… off. And when she rolled over to check the time, a wave of nausea hit her. She groaned and buried her face in her pillow."Alright?" James mumbled, still half asleep."Yeah, I just feel a little queasy," Lily replied. "Probably just something I ate."James sat up concerned. "You want me to get you something?"Lily shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. We should get up anyway; Ave has that school play today, remember?"They climbed out of bed and busied themselves getting ready for the day. James went into the bedroom to awaken Ave while Lily projectile-vomited into the toilet.James had, by this time, somehow managed to dress Ave in her costume: a huge, puffy frog outfit in bright green made for the school dress rehearsal of "The Frog Prince.""Mommy!" Ave squealed as she clumped down the stairs. "Do I look like a real frog?"Lily laughed, pushing aside her queasiness. "Why, yes, my child, the fairest fr
Chapter 140: Giggles consumed the room, and James stirred awake. He opened an eye to find a little face at the end of the bed staring in at him."Daddy! Wake up!" little Ave chirped in at him.Stepping over the landmines that were on the bed, James ran his hand through the small amount of her running down her back and picked her up, digging fingers into her tummy."Morning, princess," he said by way of splaying a kiss on her forehead.Ave giggled and squirmed. "Mommy said breakfast was ready!""Oh, yeah?" said James, sitting up but not letting go of the squirming Ave. "Am I to take it that's why Mommy sent you in here to wake me up?"Ave nodded, her bouncing brown curls saying more than she could. "Yep! She said tell you there's coffee."James laughed, and if Lily knew him at all well, it was all for her benefit. "Well then, I guess we'd better not have Mommy waiting, huh?"He climbed out of bed, Ave still in his arms, and rolled out of the room. The smell of bacon and coffee wafted
Chapter 139James lay on his back on the pristine white sand beach and took a pounding from the burning Maldivian sun. His hand reached up behind him for the coconut cocktail, tasting sweetness in his mouth as the gentle lapping of waves broke almost ten meters away from shore. It was the first time he had really been allowed to relax, barring a three-month period, since they had released the secrets of the Shadow Council onto the world."Penny for your thoughts?" The sound of Lily's voice broke through his reverie. She settled herself down on the lounger beside him. Her skin was golden against the sun.He smiled, squeezing her hand, saying, "Just thinking how surreal this all is. A year ago, I was knee-deep in conspiracies and shadow organizations. Now I'm sipping cocktails on a private island."Lily chortled; that sound always hit James in exactly the right place in his heart."Life's funny that way, isn't it?" she said, turning her head to look at him with her chin resting on her a
Chapter 138: James was pacing his living room relentlessly. Elena was with Rachel. It was all over. Well yah, anyway that was supposed to mean.Lilly squinted at him from the couch. "James, honey, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet. Come sit down."He sucked in a deep breath and sat down beside her. "I'm sorry; I just… I just can't help but feel this is too easy. After everything we've been through, this is just too easy."Lily squeezed his hand reassuringly. "James, I hardly think that anything about this has been easy. But maybe, this is the way it ends. Not really with a bang, but with a whimper."There was a pounding on the door. The teenager was on his feet before James could even open his mouth. His heart pounded in his chest. This was it.The door was thrown open. To find Rachel standing there—grimy, dirty, and obviously completely exhausted but still with the fires of determination burning behind her eyes. And past her."Hello, James," came the soft-spoken voice of Ele
Chapter 137: Rachel's hands trembled on the wheel. She drove the car towards the lighthouse. It was a full moon drooping low into a mess, ever drooping across the sky to the west, throwing a queer, sickly light over the whole demesne. She could not believe the fact that she was actually doing this, meeting secretly with her mother, Elena.She couldn't bat the feeling away that this time—this time—things were different. There was no hand in the place that could have been straightened just then, and scarcely a hand for him to take.Beside the lighthouse was her mother's car. Ray closed her eyes, drew a deep breath, and felt her hand shake again, then brought it quickly up to her chest and gripped hard. "You can do this," she whispered to herself.She scrambled out of the car and up the serpentine path to the lighthouse, where waves dashed to the rocks and her feet crunched over gravel.One figure stood at the top by the railing, looking out at the water: Elena. His mother.Rachel's hea
Chapter 136The world had barely had enough time to absorb the shock that came with the downfall of Shadow Council. News channels were all agog with relentless updates, while governments scurried to try and react to the development; people all around tried to understand what all this really meant and what the implications of the bombshell were that shook the very fundamentals of society.But there was so much more to it than that which James Watson could see coming.He found himself standing outside the hospital room after just a moment's hesitation on the other side of the door handle. He could see from the small window that Louis was lying in a bed, hooked up to a lot of machines, Rachel sat at his side.He steeled himself, took a deep breath, and walked in.Rachel lifted her head. Her eyes were red, red, but glittering. "James," she said very quietly. "I didn't expect you to be here.""How is he?" asked James, who had moved now and stood at the foot of Louis's bed.Rachel sighed. "
# Chapter 135: James took a deep breath and brought his head counterclockwise to his team, tired yet charged. It was time to engage their plan."Okay, let's go over this again. Hawk, are you set up with that kill switch or what?"Hawk just nodded. Her fingers danced across the laptop keyboard. "Okay, I am ready as I will ever be, but remember, this is one shot deal.""Right," James confirmed, turning towards Kelvin. "You got your contacts on standby?"Kelvin lifted his phone reassuringly. "They're all set, just waiting for our signal now."Glancing toward Angie and Agent Johnson, he asked, "You two sure about this? This is going to be dangerous."Angie made a show of rolling up her eyes. "Please. After all else we've done? It's just another Tuesday."It was Johnson's turn to chuckle. "What she said. We've got your back, James."James bobbed his head, his fear mixing in with his excitement. This was it: the last big push to finally bring down the Shadow Council."Alright then," he sai
Chapter 134: Days passed after the warehouse before a blur of debriefings, media frenzy, and shock waves that echoed across the globe. Standing smack in the middle of this hurricane, shaking the very roots of governments and institutions around the globe, was James and his team.They now sat in a safe house, courtesy of Agent Johnson—now an unlikely ally in all of this, ever since the exposure of the Shadow Council. There, in that very suburban home, the living room had now become something of a command center: there were laptops and papers all over, the place cluttered with empty coffee cups.James rubbed his tired eyes at the news playing on mute on the television. Of course, the headline scrolled by in the news: "Global Markets in Turmoil as Shadow Council Revelations Continue.""You should get some rest," Angie said before putting a hand on his shoulder. At least she looked a little better now, with the bruises from her captivity fading, but there was a new hardness in her eyes.